of nominations, john kerry at state,chuckhagelatdefense and john brennan for cia, i remember being on the show and saying i think hagel will be the most controversial and brennan may well be the least controversial, brennan or kerry. i think -- i still don't think his nomination is imperiled. i would say you have it right. what you are now going to have in his confirmation hearing is an extended conversation about drone strikes, how we use them, how should we use them, how should congress be consulted, should the american public be -- it's going to be sort of a broader thematic discussion. and look, the fact is the white house -- if the white house would have preferred mikeis cough break the news two weeks after john brennan rather than three days before his confirmation hearing, absolutely. >> that pesky mikeis cough. you never know when he'll break the stories. susan page, ron widen is the leader of the rebellious group on the senate intelligence committee, not the chair, dianne feinstein who we'll be talking to tomorrow. but ron widen is asking this question and down at the retr

professor that the president has nominated to serve as the next secretary of defense,chuckhagel, andi am confident and i've expressed that confidence publicly that the men and women of the department of defense will have the kind of advocate they need as the nation emerges from more than a decade of war. lastly, i'm honored to be here, as i said, as a catholic and as a proud graduate of another jesuit institution, santa clara university. my time in the university's undergraduate and law school, in many ways shaped the rest of my life as this education will shape the rest of your lives. i remain dopely thankful to the jesuits for the outstanding education that i received. having gone through seven years of philosophy and sill gisms and theology and cannon law, i have been blessed by all the grace and skepticism that jesuits can give. more importantly, i've been shaped by what i believe is their pragmatic approach to life and to faith and to the issues in general. it was that education and my catholic upbringing, particularly as the son of italian immigrants, that instilled in me the very